Endoscopic surgical clip appliers may be used for a number of surgical procedures. In endoscopic or laparoscopic surgical procedures, access to the surgical site may be achieved through a trocar inserted through a small entrance incision in the skin. The trocar port allows the surgeon to insert a number of different surgical instruments therethrough and to perform surgical procedures within the patient in a minimally invasive manner.
During some surgical procedures, the surgeon may wish to terminate the flow of blood or another fluid through one or more vessels. In some such instances, the surgeon may apply a surgical clip to a blood vessel or another duct to prevent the flow of blood or other bodily fluids therethrough during the procedure. An endoscopic surgical clip applier is capable of applying a singular surgical clip or multiple surgical clips during a minimally invasive entry to the body cavity. For instance, an endoscopic surgical clip applier is capable of ligating a blood vessel by clamping a surgical clip about the blood vessel to thereby prevent blood flow through the vessel. Such clips may be fabricated from a malleable biocompatible material and may be compressed over a vessel. Alternatively, such clips may be fabricated from a resilient biocompatible material and may be released to resiliently clamp the vessel.
In some instances, application of clips may be complicated by a reduced field of view, reduced tactile feedback for the user at the proximal end of the device, and/or reduced access to the target vessel due to anatomical positioning or obstructions, etc. It may therefore be desirable to provide an ability to manipulate the position and orientation of the distal end of the surgical clip applier at the surgical site. This may include articulating the end effector of the surgical clip applier by deflecting the end effector away from a longitudinal axis defined by a shaft assembly of the surgical clip applier.
One example of a surgical clip applier is the LIGAMAX™ 5 by Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc. of Cincinnati, Ohio. Other examples of surgical clip appliers are represented by the LIGACLIP® series of surgical clip appliers by Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc. of Cincinnati, Ohio. Examples of surgical clips are represented by the LIGACLIP® series of surgical clips by Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc. of Cincinnati, Ohio. Still further examples of surgical clip appliers and surgical clips are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,163,945, entitled “Surgical Clip Applier,” issued Nov. 17, 1992, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein; U.S. Pat. No. 5,342,373, entitled “Sterile Clips and Instrument for their Placement,” issued Aug. 30, 1994, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein; U.S. Pat. No. 5,431,668, entitled “Ligating Clip Applier,” issued Jul. 11, 1995, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein; U.S. Pat. No. 5,445,167, entitled “Methods of Applying Surgical Clips and Suture Tie Devices to Bodily Tissue During Endoscopic Procedures,” issued Aug. 29, 1995, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein; U.S. Pat. No. 5,601,573, entitled “Sterile Occlusion Fasteners and Instruments and Methods for Their Placement,” issued Feb. 11, 1997, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein; U.S. Pat. No. 5,951,574, entitled “Multiple Clip Applier Having a Split Feeding Mechanism,” issued Sep. 14, 1999, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein; U.S. Pat. No. 7,261,724, entitled “Surgical Clip Advancement Mechanism,” issued Aug. 28, 2007, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein; U.S. Pat. No. 7,686,820, entitled “Surgical Clip Applier Ratchet Mechanism,” issued Mar. 30, 2010, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein; U.S. Pat. No. 7,699,860, entitled “Surgical Clip,” issued Apr. 20, 2010, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein; U.S. Pat. No. 7,731,724, entitled “Surgical Clip Advancement and Alignment Mechanism,” issued Jun. 8, 2010, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein; U.S. Pat. No. 8,038,686, entitled “Clip Applier Configured to Prevent Clip Fallout,” issued Oct. 18, 2011, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein; and U.S. Pat. No. 8,262,679, entitled “Clip Advancer,” issued Sep. 11, 2012, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein.
While various kinds of surgical clip appliers and associated components have been made and used, it is believed that no one prior to the inventor(s) has made or used the invention described in the appended claims.
The drawings are not intended to be limiting in any way, and it is contemplated that various embodiments of the technology may be carried out in a variety of other ways, including those not necessarily depicted in the drawings. The accompanying drawings incorporated in and forming a part of the specification illustrate several aspects of the present technology, and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the technology; it being understood, however, that this technology is not limited to the precise arrangements shown.